Groundwork

Food and drink · Metro area · California

Restaurants and cafes in the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area

The restaurants and cafes in the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #65 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
2,489
951 chain locations (38%)
Official establishments
1,159
+9.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On food away from home · $4,294 a household
Spending per listing
$423K
14% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
101.5
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
823,815
+5.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in the Stockton-Lodi metro area

The site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Stockton-Lodi metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on food away from home in the Stockton-Lodi metro area comes to about $1.1B a year: $4,294 per household, 6% above the U.S. average. Spread across 2,489 restaurants and cafes, that is $423K per restaurant, 14% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

There are 2,489 restaurants and cafes on map listings in the Stockton-Lodi metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 951 are chain locations, or 38%, against 34% across the U.S. That comes to 101.5 for every 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,159 businesses with payroll in the Stockton-Lodi metro area classed as restaurants and other eating places, up 9.3% from 2019. That is one for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Official counts list 288 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 32 SBA-backed loans worth $22.6M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Stockton-Lodi metro area.

Population estimates show the Stockton-Lodi metro area grew 5.5% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, the Stockton-Lodi metro area has a Groundwork market score of 69 (upper middle): #65 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Stockton-Lodi metro area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Restaurants and cafes in Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureStockton-Lodi metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households101.5128.4109.8
Spending per listing$423K$355K$371K
Households per official establishment212170209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.3%+3.9%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.5%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,294$4,559$4,070
Median household income$92,179$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6933

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,159+9.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
20,554
Annual payroll, 2023
$513.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
288Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
2,489951 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,840The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
32
Amount
$22.6M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in the Stockton-Lodi metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Stockton-Lodi metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
823,815+5.5% since 2020
Households
245,250
Median age
35.9
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,392 sq. mi.
People per square mile
573
Median household income
$92,179+43.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,604
Median home value
$530,700
Jobs located here
284,408
Daytime population
748,070Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Stockton-Lodi metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Stockton-Lodi metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Restaurants and cafes across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in California, with the Stockton-Lodi metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuba City, CA8146474.9$520K+3.3%#11 of 387
2Stockton-Lodi, CA692,489101.5$423K+5.5%#65 of 387
3Merced, CA6872984.7$418K+5.1%#73 of 387
4Vallejo, CA671,54498.0$460K+0.6%#77 of 387
5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA568,773129.0$446K−0.6%#146 of 387
6Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA5515,275105.3$400K+3.5%#153 of 387
7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA559,900112.3$396K+3.2%#154 of 387
8Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA513,192113.9$420K−1.5%#183 of 387
9Hanford-Corcoran, CA4941393.8$390K+1.0%#195 of 387
10Redding, CA4569397.3$389K−0.3%#218 of 387

Other business types in the Stockton-Lodi metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 2,489 restaurants and cafes in the Stockton-Lodi metro area. 951 of them (38%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 1,159 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 9.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 288 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area spend on food away from home?

About $1.1B a year, or $4,294 per household. That is 6% above the U.S. average (an index of 106, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,489 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $423K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 245,250 households in the Stockton-Lodi metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

The Stockton-Lodi metro area has 101.5 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $423K, 14% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the U.S. ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, the Stockton-Lodi metro area would have about 2,840, against 2,489 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 212 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Stockton-Lodi metro area at 823,815 people in 2025, up 5.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 245,250 households. Median household income in the Stockton-Lodi metro area is $92,179, 14% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 43.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Stockton-Lodi metro area scores 69 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #65 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Stockton-Lodi metro area. It maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in the Stockton-Lodi metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Stockton-Lodi metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Stockton-Lodi metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.